A New Jersey father and his two grown sons - all three hardened combat veterans with multiple tours of duty under their belt - have together joined the fight against ISIS in faraway Kurdistan.

Harry M, 49, was a US Marine, a police officer and an Army National Guardsman who served several tours of duty in Iraq during the most recent war, including as a sniper team leader.

When his two sons, 29-year-old Josh and 23-year-old James, recently came to him saying they were planning to travel to northern Iraq to join the regional Peshmerga forces in their struggle against ISIS, the retired Marine said he knew at once he could not let them go alone.

'I've got over 20 years experience and I thought to myself, "I got two boys going, there is no way they are going without me,"' Harry M, told Fox News during a recent interview just hours before the three men boarded a flight to Iraq.

The family of three are not revealing their last name due to security concerns.

Harry's eldest son, Josh, had followed in his father's footsteps and became a US Marine, serving two tours of duty in Afghanistan.

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The 29-year-old veteran said he felt like he could not sit idly by while innocent Iraqis being slaughtered en masse by rampaging bands of ISIS fighters after losing the protection of America's military.

'Every day we’re not there, people are dying,' he said. 'The war technically ended for conventional warfare which put me and my brother basically out of a job.

'I'm still able to fight and the opportunity arose… and I'm going. That’s it. I need to help out,’ the 29-year-old told the station.

According to Josh, it was his baby brother, 23-year-old James, who got the idea for the three of them to travel to Kurdistan and take the fight directly to ISIS.

Despite his young age, James also served two tours of duty in Afghanistan as an infantryman.

After his homecoming, James decided to get a college education, but he still wanted to serve his country, this time as a combat videographer. So about a year ago, he began planning a trip to northern Iraq to document the fierce fighting between Kurdish soldiers and ISIS militants.

We are out there to protect and serve, and not just serving the United States, but people, humanity. Being a good person. We have the capabilities to protect others and that is what we are about.

James M, volunteer solider

Eventually, Josh and Harry embraced James' idea and decided to go together to film the hostilities, but as ISIS continued cutting a bloody swath through the region, the family's goal changed: now, the father and sons were determined to help defeat the Islamist force.

‘If the military, conventional forces were going, we’d go with them,’ James said. ‘We’d sign back up, no problem. But they’re not. And that’s what it comes down to. They’re not and we’re capable and we’re going.’

The official policy of the US government does not expressly prohibit private citizens from traveling to Iraq and Syria to join the fight against ISIS, but the US State Department pointed out that such actions are not ‘part of US efforts in the region.’

The family of three from New Jersey are confident they can make a difference by combining their combat and survival skills.

Fellow American: Ryan O'leary (center), a 28-year-old American volunteer member of PDKI with his colleague. He joined as volunteer with PDK-I in the north of Iran at the border of Iraq-Iran Peshmerga

Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters stand next to their vehicle as they guard a position at the frontline of fighting against ISIS near the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, west of the city of Mosul on August 17

‘We are going to contribute on our level. My brother is a heavy machine gunner, my dad is a sniper, I was a rifleman,’ James told Fox News. ‘We are going to bring that together and present that to the Kurds and aid them in whatever way possible.’

As experienced warriors, Harry, Josh and James noted they are well aware of the dangers that await them overseas, but they insisted that whatever happens, they will not be taken prisoner by the enemy.

‘I will not be captured,’ said Josh. ‘I’ve seen the videos. Warfare is warfare. When you accept it, it actually becomes very easy. You just go in there and you fight to live. You never go into a gun fight or any type of fight with the expectation you are going to lose.’

James said he wanted the public at home to know that they are joining the fight for honorable reasons, not out of bloodlust.

He said: ‘We are out there to protect and serve, and not just serving the United States, but people, humanity. Being a good person. We have the capabilities to protect others and that is what we are about.’

The father, Harry, said he is driven by an overwhelming desire to defend America’s core values: freedom to debate, to worship freely and to pursue happiness.

Peshmerga forces stand guard in the village of Elbunecm August 17, 2015

A picture taken on August 17, 2015 shows buildings that were damaged during fighting between Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and the Islamic States militants in the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, west of the city of Mosul

Members of the Popular Mobilisation units gather around a vehicle on the front line during a military operation against ISIS on the road leading to Saqlawiya, north of Fallujah, in Iraq's Anbar province on August 19

‘And I’m willing to put my life on the line, not just for this country but for complete strangers,’ the 49-year-old retired Marine said.

The New Jersey father and his two sons arrived in Iraq Tuesday, intent on joining the Peshmerga forces under the leadership of the Kurdish Regional Government.

Their trip overseas is being partially sponsored by a non-profit organization called Humanitarian Defense Abroad, which was started by a retired Marine.

The family of three are not the only Americans fighting jihadist forces alongside Kurds.

According to a recent report by the citizen journalism site Bellingcat, at least 108 Americans from 31 states have traveled to Iraq and Syria to fight ISIS.

More than two thirds of the US fighters have prior military experience, but they come from all walks of life.

The majority of the volunteers are in their 20s and 30s, but there are some in their 50s and early 60s as well.

In the latest news from the theater of war in northern Iraq, Kurdish forces attacked ISIS insurgents in a cluster of villages in the province of Kirkuk Wednesday, bent on securing territory they have gained in the course of rolling back the jihadists since last summer.

The front line between the regional Kurdish Peshmerga forces and Islamic State in northern Iraq has hardly budged for months.

The Peshmerga have emerged as an important partner for the US in its aerial campaign against Islamic State.

They have pushed back the ultra-radical Sunni insurgents in northern Iraq, effectively expanding the area of their autonomous region in the process. Large parts of Kirkuk province remain in ISIS hands.